I’ve had to take out a £10k loan for a new car after Motability cuts ...Middle East

A disabled man whose Motability payments were withdrawn has warned that reforms to the scheme are “completely unfair” and “built on prejudice”.

The Motability scheme allows disabled welfare recipients to use their benefits to lease a car, scooter or powered wheelchair at an affordable price.

Andy Mitchell, from Taunton, Somerset, said his benefits were cut in May, stripping him of access to the Motability scheme and forcing him to take out a £10,000 loan to buy a car.

Mitchell, 55, who has severe arthritis, told The i Paper he struggles to walk more than 20 metres, and barely left the house before he qualified for the scheme in 2020.

“My hips and my lower back are really painful,” he said.

“I have arthritis in my knees, in my hands. I also have diabetes which makes that worse. My hands don’t work sometimes, my feet swell up. Just walking any sort of distance is painful.”

Mitchell received a car under the Motability scheme in 2020 after 11 months of appeals. On top of the £300 in benefits paid monthly to the scheme, Mitchell made a £3,000 advance payment to have a “slightly better” car – a Peugeot 5008, which was more suited to his needs.

“It was completely transformative,” he said. “It was useful that I had any vehicle at all, because before that I wasn’t going out at all. Life was much more difficult. I was feeling very isolated before the car.”

Mitchell, who campaigns for disability rights, said the vehicle granted him the freedom to take his activism from online into the real world, do voluntary work in the community, and socialise.

But his Motability subsidy was withdrawn in spring after his needs were reassessed.

“I went into a bad depressive period as a result,” he said. “When you get a vehicle, you’re constantly worried about losing it, and when I did I was devastated.”

Mitchell warned that the changes to the scheme were emblematic of a Government that demonises the most vulnerable.

Rachel Reeves confirmed in her Budget last month that tax reliefs worth £300m would end for Motability Operations, the company leasing the vehicles, and companies that provide insurance for the scheme.

HMRC acknowledged the changes are “likely to indirectly impact” disabled people leasing vehicles, with Motability saying its customers could be forced to pay £400 more for their cars.

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The looming changes to the Motability scheme - from tax hikes to PIP reform

The disability minister, Sir Stephen Timms, confirmed to MPs this week that the tax reliefs would be ditched in July 2026.

The changes will “improve value for money for taxpayers” while still ensuring the scheme can “provide outstanding support for disabled people”, he told the Commons.

Luxury car models such as BMWs and Audis, will no longer be offered, following pressure on the Government to offer only mainstream brands.

Reeves criticised the scheme at the Budget last month, saying it “was set up to protect the most vulnerable, not to subsidise the lease on a Mercedes-Benz”.

Changes to the scheme were not laid out in the Labour manifesto and had not been consulted on.

Mitchell said: “In the last couple of years, there has been this constant attack on disabled people.

“It’s been rough, it’s been a tough year. We didn’t even consider Motability as being a target when the Government first said they were reviewing [personal independence payments]”.

Claimants often opt for bigger vehicles on the scheme which have enough room for wheelchairs and other equipment. Those who lease larger and higher specification vehicles are often required to top up their benefit payments with money from their own pocket.

Mitchell said: “Why can’t they [disabled people] choose a BMW or a Mercedes if they can afford to do that?

“It’s just discrimination and this is all built on prejudice. It’s just completely unfair. The way the narrative has been driven that we are somehow going on the sick by choice. That we’re taking an easy option. It’s not an easy option for me, I’d far prefer to be out there and working.”

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Motability Operations has said it would try to “minimise price increases for customers” following the Budget changes.

Over 845 cars with different sizes and features will still be available, the company said. It also said staff would help customers find the right vehicle for their needs – including adaptations.

The company’s chief executive, Andrew Miller, said it would “continue to put the disabled people we serve at the heart of everything we do”.

A Government spokesperson said: “Motability customers will still be able to lease a car with just their qualifying disability benefit, as there will still be cars available through the scheme which require no advance payment.

“As well as ensuring disabled people can access vehicles, we’re also committed to reforming Motability and saving the taxpayer £1bn over five years.”

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